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Of “Crochet Scarves”, Carrots and Sticks

In keeping with my previously established, more disciplined approach to newsy important posting (as opposed to the manner in which I present the more imaginative, inconsequential posts), I am telling you up front that today you have an opportunity to win a copy of my friend Sharon Silverman‘s incredible new book, Crochet Scarves: Fabulous Fashions – Various Techniques (Stackpole Books, 2012). I guess that’s your carrot. 🙂

It occurs to me that the efficacy of the whole carrot (the reward) and stick (the threat) thing completely depends upon your species, your point of view and inclinations. If you’re a pony, then OK. Consider my dog. To him, carrots are not edible (this is the little brat who often behaves as though dog food isn’t edible, either.) Put a carrot in his dish and he’d probably sniff it, scratch all around the dish for a few minutes, push the carrot out of the dish, toss it around the floor for another few minutes before beginning to whine. But present him with a stick… WOWSERS, a stick! He’ll chase that stick until he collapses in panting exhaustion. So to him the carrot is the threat; the stick the reward. Speaking as a person who doesn’t care much for carrots, I’d be much more motivated if you dangled chocolate cake instead. And if the stick can be used to hold crochet stitches, then that’s going to be more intriguing than threatening. It would have to be something totally horrible, like, say pattern sizing, to be a true threat. If offered the chocolate cake or the pattern sizing, you could get me to pull the cart, no question. See what I mean?

So for the sake of a better figure of speech, I should really let you fill in your own choice. Sharon’s new book, Crochet Scarves is [your reward here]. Turns out Sharon Silverman and I are practically neighbors. We finally met face to face last spring over some evil orchids. But that’s another story.

The concept of this book is quite brilliant. In Sharon’s hands, the lowly scarf becomes the canvas for the exploration of various crochet techniques, ranging from mitered squares to lace and colorwork, broomstick crochet and (what I consider to be her specialty) Tunisian crochet. Each of the 21 scarf projects is accompanied by an achingly complete tutorial, including step-by-step images of hands, hook and yarn, stitch symbol diagrams and close-up shots of the fabric. No matter what sort of learner you are, Sharon’s got you covered. Not only do her lessons prepare you to make the scarf designs in the book; this is stuff that will boost your confidence when working on other people’s designs (including mine!).

While Sharon’s scarves are the perfect teaching tools for techniques, they are also majorly wonderful opportunities to experiment with different yarns. Many of the projects require just one skein of fabulous yarn, or one skein of each color. I have two favorite designs. Cactus Lace alternates broomstick with rows of double crochet to great effect.

Electric Lime is an awesome way to make variegated yarn look good in crochet. It is done in Tunisian net (also called Tunisian full stitch) that allows the color changes to overlap, like bargello. Clever.

My blog today is merely the first stop on the tour for Crochet Scarves, a month-long celebration. Check Sharon’s website and Facebook page for the latest links and book giveaways.

Now the exciting part. Please leave a comment below to enter a drawing to win a copy of Crochet Scarves compliments of Sharon Silverman and Stackpole Books. You don’t have to write anything fancy. Sucking up to either me or Sharon won’t improve your chances because a number will be chosen at random. Yeah, right. Deadline for comments is midnight Eastern Time, 21 July, Saturday night. I’ll be back on Monday to announce the winner and award the carrot. Or chocolate cake. Whatever. 🙂

What a great idea. I love the thought o being able to learn all of the crochet techniques all in one book instead of having to buy all different books for each technique. Looking forward to seeing this book in real life.

The scarf on the book cover looks like it was inspired by the famous Burberry tartan. Ok, now I’ll have to translate that to create other tartans…such as the one for the fictitional Scottish clan in the animated film “Brave”!!! I’m glad to see more “special techniques” being focussed on, and in “bite-size” projects…so to speak. This type of book is really useful for people wanting to explore techniques…I bet people will be using it to create this year’s Christmas gifts…and the gift to themselves will be they’ll gain new techniques!

Looks to be an awesome book about something as simple as a scarf. Let’s be honest…errr…let me be honest. Some of them aren’t simple. But they are beautiful. And challenging. I love a challenge. :o) Thanks…I’d love to add it to my crochet book collection and try my hand at a couple of them!

I agree. Chocolate cake (or ice cream) would work better than a carrot to motivate me. But the chance to win Sharon’s book is enough of a reward. I’ve got her Tunisian book and love it. Not only does she rock scarves, but her shawls are fabulous as well. Thanks for the chance to win!

How long I’ve been crocheting is irrelevant, there is always something new under the sun! Would love to win a copy of this book to help myself and also to be able to pass techniques on to others in a class I plan to teach this fall. Scarves, of course, are the ideal project. At the very least, thanks for bringing attention to the book.

TopDownSEAMLESSCrochet garments are usually my only interest, but Dang! those scarves are Gorgeous!! I want to crochet every one of them and remove the words “just a scarf” from my vocabulary. (Yes, I’ve become a Yarn Snob… but I can change!)

I would be soooo excited to win a copy of Sharon’s new book! The prospect of using her designs to explore new techniques with the plus of having some beautiful scarves …. total awesomeness! PICK ME.. PICK ME.. PICK ME….please?

This book and I are meant to be together! I’m convinced that this is the contest that I will win! and if not, I’ll still come back and read your blog, (shameless sucking up).
Thanks for the chance and the review!

The thing that pleases my heart more than anything is the look on the faces of my family and friends when they receive the gift I’ve made just for them. The right colors, the right pattern, the right theme…for instance the bacon and eggs scarf I made for my adult niece or the bearded hats I made for my young grand nephews. Please send me a book so I can learn more.

Doris is offering chocolate cake? oops I think I misread that.
A scarf is a great way to experiment with new stitches and new techniques. But it’s a fabulous way to experiment with those new yarns, especially if a whole sweater would be too expensive, just a little splurge to explore the new yarn in a scarf.
Sounds like a great book.